Russian interior minister to hold talks with North Korean minister of people’s security

02.04.2019 13:57

Context:

Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, who arrived in Pyongyang on Monday, will hold talks with the North Korean minister of people’s security, a source in the Russian embassy in North Korea told TASS on Tuesday.

According to the source, the visit is part of a "planned exchange" between the Russian and North Korean law enforcement agencies.

In December 2018, a delegation from the North Korean Ministry of People’s Security made a visit to Moscow, conveying an invitation to visit Pyongyang to the Russian interior minister.

Kolokoltsev’s visit comes amid media reports claiming that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is expected to make a visit to Russia in the near future.

The head of a Friendship Group set up by the Russian Federation Council [the upper house of parliament] and the North Korean parliament, Oleg Melnichenko, said earlier on Monday that Kim Jong-un may visit Russia in the near future. South Korea’s Yonhap news agency earlier reported about a high-ranking North Korean official’s visit to Russia, saying it had been aimed at paving the way for the North Korean leader’s visit.

South Korea’s Dong-a Ilbo newspaper, in turn, said that Kim Jong-un planned to make a visit to Russia to ensure Moscow’s support for his country in the wake of his unsuccessful summit with US President Donald Trump in Hanoi. In this regard, the paper pointed to increasing contacts between Pyongyang and Moscow. According to the paper, high-ranking North Korean diplomats three times visited Russia in March 2019.